Sat, 02 Sep 2017 16:10:00 -0500WeeblySun, 30 Apr 2017 11:12:19 GMThttp://bobanddebinafrica.weebly.com/blog/spring-2017-newsletterOur Spring Newsletter is finally out. You can check it out here to learn what we've been up to and to read about Felix and Michelle's story. If you didn't receive your own copy directly, click here to subscribe to our mailing list.

We've been on an amazing journey and God continues to keep it interesting!

Thanks for following us and please consider donating to our ministry or sponsor one of our children. Blessings to you!!!

]]>Sun, 04 Dec 2016 22:46:54 GMThttp://bobanddebinafrica.weebly.com/blog/ruzgas-in-kenya-december-newletterIt has been an amazing year in Kenya with Oasis for Orphans and we highlight it in our latest newsletter (click here). Make sure you read "Meet Rael" to learn more about one of our newest children.

]]>Mon, 08 Aug 2016 16:02:29 GMThttp://bobanddebinafrica.weebly.com/blog/august-2016-newsletterHard to believe that July 2016 has been 2 years for us here in Kenya!!! Its been an amazing journey. Our latest Oasis Newsletter is now out so if you didn't get your own copy Click Here and make sure you add your email to our subscribers list here.

]]>Fri, 19 Feb 2016 22:34:43 GMThttp://bobanddebinafrica.weebly.com/blog/winter-2016-newsletter-now-availableOur January/February Oasis Newsletter is now available. If you didn't get a copy Click Here . You can also make sure you get our future newsletters by adding your name and email address here at Subscribe to our Newsletter.

After the past 2 months being here in the USA we are now returning to Kenya to be with our first 20 children, continue building the next houses and adding the next 12 children! You won't want to miss our next update!

Thank you for following us!!!]]>Sun, 13 Dec 2015 17:11:11 GMThttp://bobanddebinafrica.weebly.com/blog/year-end-oasis-newsletter-now-availableOn December 4th we started welcoming in the 20 orphaned children to The Shelter. Read more about it and one of the many stories of these children's lives in our year end Oasis Newsletter by clicking here.

]]>Wed, 11 Nov 2015 14:55:34 GMThttp://bobanddebinafrica.weebly.com/blog/where-has-the-time-goneStacking on the roof rack! We are Kenyan!

Back in Kenya One Month Already……..

We landed in Nairobi feeling so grateful that all of our crates and luggage arrived and relieved to have made it through customs without any extra duty tax. After getting a good night’s rest at the guest house in Nairobi we bought a supply of groceries and packed up the car and headed out for our 7-hour drive home. Excited and knowing that we had much to do to get the Shelter operationally ready for our first 20 children in December, we didn’t want to waste anytime!

In the last few weeks we have been interviewing house mama’s, purchasing furnishings and supplies, interviewing orphan children and visiting their guardian’s homes. Bob has been working with our architect, Nate, here onsite to get a bore hole dug and building a water tower in the next few weeks. As well as some finishing construction touches on the buildings. ​

Visiting the homes where the children are now staying with their guardian has given us an even greater sense of urgency to help these children. We have seen children, who are left under the care of their elderly grandparent’s, not be able to go to school, are lucky, maybe, to get one cup of porridge a day, are living under a leaky roof, and sleeping on dirt floors with no mattress. Our hearts are breaking for these children and you just want to rescue them immediately. These children have been impressed on our minds and hearts and we pray for God’s grace and protection over them each and every day.

As most of you know, we took a leap of faith returning to Kenya with 50% of our yearly support raised. If you are reading this blog, we are in desperate need of your help!Currently, we are funded only through the month of January. As I am writing this, I remember, from when I was younger, seeing that commercial on television of the starving children in Africa, and the man pleading for help...remember that one? "The cost of a cup of coffee a day" could help feed a child! I remember seeing that commercial and my heart aching for those children back then. It saddens me to think that that same commercial could be shown today because there are STILL children without a good source of food or water, a solid house to feel safe in, or access to an education. There is still so much to be done to complete the children’s home and to bring them in. God has been so faithful in our mission journey and we are praying that he will allow us to continue the work He has put before us. We are asking that if you feel moved or prompted in anyway to help, please click here to donate.

Please know that we are incredibly grateful for all of you who have faithfully come alongside us and supported us financially and in prayer!!

God's Blessings, Bob & Deb

Prayer Requests:

Please pray that we would continue to grow in the Lord.

Please pray that we will manage our time well with everything that needs to get done so that we can open the children’s home in December.

For our adult children living in the United States.

That our support would come in so that we can remain serving in Kenya.

Please consider supporting our Ruzga Family Ministry with your Year End Donations!

If you have already have requested to be on our subscribers list but didn't receive a copy email me at bob@oasisfororphans.org.

Thank you for journeying with us!!! It means the world to us.]]>Thu, 03 Sep 2015 17:02:22 GMThttp://bobanddebinafrica.weebly.com/blog/we-need-your-help-please

It is hard to believe we have been in the USA for almost one month now. On August 9th we welcomed our new daughter, Michelle, into our family as we celebrated and stood by David on that very special day. The wedding was wonderful! It took place in the Florida Keys; surrounded by family and friends, and God’s unending beauty. Not only were we blessed to share this special day with our son, we have also been able to spend time with Ashley and her fiancé, Garret. We are excited to share the news of their upcoming wedding this January and and are blessed to have Garret joining our family. Never did we think we would be having both of our children getting married within 6 months of each other, but God is Great! God has his plan! God is never wrong!

“When do you two go back to Kenya?” is a common question we are asked. We were hoping for September 15th but the answer has become “as soon as we raise at least 70% of our second year funds”. As of this writing we are only 30% funded so we have a long way to go. With having lived in Kenya for a year now we have learned how to stretch every dollar donated to our ministry which has allowed us to extend the money raised for our first year to actually 13 months!!!

So We Need Your Help!!!To be fully funded for our second year we need to raise an additional $3,600 per month ($43,200 total for the year). So 70% means we need to have raised $2,520 per month ($30,240 total) before we can return to Kenya!!!

Our goal at Oasis is to bring the first 20 vulnerable orphans into The Shelter around December 1 of this year. To accomplish this, we have a lot of operational work to do between now and December 1st. This includes things like hiring (and training )the mamas to care for the children, cooks, security guards, find a part time nurse, purchase furnishings for the building, complete the water supply system, etc. The list looks daunting at times, but with God leading the way, we are excited to make this happen. That means the longer it takes us to return to Kenya the less likely we will be able to open The Shelter on time.

Would you please prayerfully consider donating to our ministry? At $100/month we would only need 36 people to join us to be fully funded for year 2 (25 people at $100/month gets us to 70%!!). Whether you can donate monthly or only one time, and no matter what amount, you will be blessing us and helping God’s kingdom.

Please consider sharing our journey with your friends, churches, businesses too!!! We would love to have them join us! The more we can share our story with others, the sooner these orphans will be placed in an environment where they can be nurtured and loved. A place where they can get clothed, fed, educated, medical attention, and most importantly, feel the true presence of God in their lives.

Deb and I have been so blessed to be a part of this process. The Shelter is near and dear to our hearts. Please help us get back by September 15th so that we can finish this journey and witness God’s glory being lived out in the lives of the little ones he cherishes so much.

We welcome any questions and would love to answer them! Please feel free to contact either Deb or myself. You can email us at bob@oasisfororphans.org or debbie@oasisfororphans.org, or you can reach us on our cells: (Bob) 815-519-8328 or (Debbie) 815-540-3357. One of the things that we have learned living in Africa is how important relationships are. We look forward to hearing from you and we thank you beyond words.

]]>Sat, 01 Aug 2015 15:00:25 GMThttp://bobanddebinafrica.weebly.com/blog/our-july-2015-oasis-newsletter-is-available-nowOur July 2015 Oasis Newsletter is now available by clicking here. Hard to believe we have been on this journey for one year already. Hope you enjoy our look back.

Deb and I have been in Kenya for one year and we are still amazed, inspired, baffled and frustrated with each new day here. Let me share one such recent story. One of the ways women earn money here is to work as house help for people who can afford to pay someone to do much of the cooking, cleaning, washing laundry by hand, etc. For a house helper they work 10-12 hours/day, walk an hour to work and earn maybe $2.50/day if they are lucky. If they choose working at a construction site, they might make $3.50/day for carrying 8 gallons of water to the site or carrying 100 lbs. concrete bags up 2-4 flights of stairs all day. Payday is either at the end of each day or at the end of each month. Most of these ladies get up before 5am to make their family breakfast (if they have food) and get their children ready for school if they are fortunate enough to have school fees. Then they are on their way to their jobs usually arriving by 7am. Once they complete their day job, they return home usually after 7pm. They then have to collect firewood in the dark, prepare dinner, put the children to sleep and then themselves usually by 11pm to start all over tomorrow. Finding a job is very difficult especially one which actually pays them for the work they do. Deb has such a heart for these ladies. She takes time for the ladies that work on our compound here each and every day. She talks with them about their families, their health, and their life. She also shares the Gospel with them whenever she can. So its no surprise that the women feel very comfortable talking with Deb. So much so that when a friend of one of the ladies who works on our compound was struggling with a sick baby she suggested their friend talk with Deb. “Rose” was struggling at work each day for the past couple of weeks because her 13 month old son was very sick and his health seemed to be worsening daily. Rose leaves her son with her elderly mother to care for him while she works. Her husband left her when their son was born and his family kicked them out of their compound. With the little bit of money she had, she had her mother take her baby boy to a local government hospital where they were told the baby is too weak to care for and advised her to take him home. You see, “Rose” would have taken her child to the hospital herself but she was extremely concerned that if she asked for the time off from her employer, they would likely fire her since they had recently helped her with medical costs and time off when her son had contracted measles. Since she couldn’t afford to lose her job she continued to work each day knowing that her son may die from whatever he had that even the local hospital would not treat. So Rose’s choice was to continue to earn money so she could feed herself and her child or try to nurse her son back to health with no medical assistance. By the time Rose finally had the courage to talk with Deb and the confidence her employer wouldn’t find out her son was deathly ill. Deb listened patiently and cautiously as people approach us for money all the time. Deb could tell instantly that this was a sincere request for any kind of help and as their conversation ended Deb told Rose she would pray for her son and that she would get back to her the next day. Deb immediately called friends at a local missionary clinic and made arrangements for the child to be seen the next day. She also talked with Rose’s employer knowing that their hearts would desire to help her and not terminate her. They quickly agreed that Rose could take her son the next morning to the clinic. Deb found Rose, gave her money to get a motorcycle taxi to drive her up to her home an hour away, get her son, drive back an hour to the clinic and return them home (total cost was $3). At the clinic, they diagnosed her son with pneumonia, malaria, and a severe skin allergy which caused a swelling of the eye lids. They provided the necessary medications and sent her on her way back home. Later that night Deb called our friend at the clinic and to take care of the medical fees. The total bill for the doctors exam and medications was $6. The next day Rose stopped by, she was so appreciative and you could tell in her countenance that a heavy burden was lifted from her. It has been almost 5 days since, Rose was so excited to share that her son is eating again, laughing and playing!!! How easily this story could have ended much differently. Since then, Deb and I have had many conversations around the fact that we have never been in this situation. We can’t imagine the anguish and desperation of deciding between feeding your family or affording medical treatment for a sick child.So, what would you do if you were Rose??